PicoBlog

An account of the life and errors of Molly Young. This is my bucket of posts. They do not go out by email. Instead, they exist on this page, which you can bookmark to visit if the spirit moves you. There is a paywall option but if you do not have $$ for yet another Substack, email me and I will “comp” you. Or, if you are sick of the tyranny of subscriptions, you can Venmo any amount between 1 dollar and 1 million dollars and I will also add you to the comp-forever list.

Turk Broda was one of the best money goaltenders of all-time, and by that I mean he played his best when it really mattered most. With five Stanley Cup's and a pair of Stanley Cup's, he's certainly the greatest netminder the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise has ever seen. "When the playoff bucks were on the line," noted Toronto Star writer Gary Lautens wrot… ncG1vNJzZmimmKG1qr%2FTqKmyZqOqr7TAwJyiZ5ufonyxe9OhnGakmZuybq3NnWStoZ2awG67xWarrqqbYq%2Bzu8Oa

I mean no sleight against True Detective: Night Country, the recent HBO miniseries, when I say it peaks early. I enjoyed all six episodes, by and large, but no moment was quite as thrilling as when Jodie Foster, playing Alaskan police chief Liz Danvers, arrives at a crime scene. As Danvers begins asserting her authority while offering acerbic commentary, Foster quickly establishes who the character is and the status of her relationship with her subordinates, but there’s a wariness to her expression that suggests, beneath the bluster, she suspects she might be in over her head.

A heads-up that this article contains some frank descriptions of sexual abuse and incest. Please take care while reading. Welcome to Part 2 of Six Degrees of Plácido Domingo, where we’ll be exploring opera’s current #MeToo reckoning through four centuries of misogyny and misconduct in the genre’s history — onstage and off. If you missed Part 1, check out The Medici: Sex, Power, and the Birth of Opera. The fate of Don Giovanni is one thing.

The Galactic Republic isn’t what it used to be — and neither is the Jedi Order. Many years ago, Jedi were stationed in outposts across the galaxy to better serve the worlds and communities most in need. Now, many of these outposts are closing. And it’s becoming rare for members of the Jedi Council especially to find a reason to leave the temple on Coruscant. A year out from the events of The Phantom Menace, are the Jedi really serving the galaxy as they vow to do?

Diogenes of Sinope was a contemporary of Plato and Alexander the Great. He was famous for his radical philosophy that discarded status, possessions and the learning of books to get at the vital marrow of philosophy — the good life. Diogenes was famous for living his philosophy in all its simplicity and coarseness. He didn’t care for the intellectual sea… ncG1vNJzZmismJq5qsLIp56poJmhvLS7z6GwZ6ull8C1rcKkZZynnWS9cMDHnmSloaaeu6h5z6GgpaejpL2pxYyonWacmaS0prrErA%3D%3D

(Below is part two of my essay on Forrest Carter. The first part is here, in last week’s newsletter, if you missed it. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy.) Forrest Carter is a successful author. When you write about Carter, you’re not writing about an obscure American author, one whose work has no clear and visible footprint in the country’s culture. The fiftieth anniversary of Carter’s first novel, The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales, took place in 2023.

Welcome to Micro-Chop, a newsletter dissecting beatmaking, DJing, music production, rapping, and sampling — written by me, Gino Sorcinelli. Micro-Chop publishes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for paid subscribers. Free subscribers receive Monday’s newsletter. Give feedback, send questions, or just say hi by emailing me at gino@bookshelfbeats.com. When Black Sheep dropped their certified gold debut A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing in 1991, critics and fans were wowed by producer Mista Lawnge’s diverse and impressive mix of samples and rapper Dres’ distinct voice and delivery.

Been around the world with companies like Waze, Google, and Netflix. Now, I’m trying to find my way back home. This is a white space for me to ruminate on life, culture, and of course, the newest Drake albums. Come for the arcane hip-hop references. Stay for the stories. Eric M. Ruiz is an LA-based writer and marketing professional from Modesto, California. Most recently, he was part of the Marketing team at Netflix where he helped partners across Latin America—like Telmex, izzi, and AT&T—integrate with the streaming platform.